


in the woods and to the castle

by Russy



Category: The Witcher (TV), Wiedźmin | The Witcher - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Emotionally Constipated Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Eskel is Cirilla Fiona Ellen Riannon's Parent, Family Fluff, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia is Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon's Parent, Good Parent Eskel, Good Parent Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Hurt Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, Hurt/Comfort, Injury, Injury Recovery, M/M, Parent-Child Relationship, Parenthood, Platonic Soulmates, Protective Eskel (The Witcher), Protective Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Protective Witchers (The Witcher), Romantic Soulmates, Soft Eskel (The Witcher), Soft Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Soft Witchers (The Witcher), Soulmates, The Law of Surprise (The Witcher), Warlord Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Witchers Have Feelings (The Witcher), Young Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, only a little
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-13
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-13 19:15:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,896
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29406792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Russy/pseuds/Russy
Summary: Geralt and Eskel had thought their Child Surprise was dead. Then, while they were patrolling through the woods near the Blue Mountains, Eskel and Yennefer came upon a light haired girl brimming with Chaos, and the world shifted on its axis.
Relationships: Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Eskel, Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon & Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia, Eskel/Geralt z Rivii | Geralt of Rivia
Comments: 6
Kudos: 40





	in the woods and to the castle

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [With a Conquering Air](https://archiveofourown.org/works/23273713) by [inexplicifics](https://archiveofourown.org/users/inexplicifics/pseuds/inexplicifics). 



> Hello!
> 
> This fic was inspired by the lovely inexplicfics' "The Accidental Warlord and his Pack" AU (thank you gaian for allowing me to write this <3). It's loosely based on it, although it has quite a few different elements. This mainly focuses on Geralt/Eskel (soulmate AU) basically learning how to dad. It's kind of confusing and also a little short, but I enjoyed writing it! I'm not sure whether I'd like to continue this AU though.
> 
> tl;dr: this is basically a partially incoherent dump of fluffy WItcher mush
> 
> If you have any thoughts/ ideas/ requests/ constructive criticism please let me know in the comments :)
> 
> Enjoy!!

Ciri continued to run, still frightened. She was hungry and tired, her bones ached and her head was pounding. She felt like she was going to pass out. For the last few weeks, Nilfgaard had been sending small bands of soldiers after her nearly every day, ever since they’d somehow gotten word that a girl resembling the lost princess of Cintra had been seen in the woods nearby. Although the Niflgaardians had been defeated by the White Wolf’s army and mages at the battle of Sodden Hill nearly a fortnight ago, a small part of the army had managed to escape, and they continued their relentless pursuit after her.

Ciri hoped to make it to the Blue Mountains as soon as possible. There started the White Wolf’s territory, and it was her last chance to find Geralt of Rivia. Her grandmother, with her dying breath, had told her to find the man – the Witcher, she’d later found out – who was supposed to be her destiny. From what Mousesack had told her – or rather, the Doppler who’d been impersonating him – Geralt had claimed the Law of Surprise as a reward at her parents’ wedding, which essentially made him her father, somewhat like soulmates were connected, and yet different. After the Doppler had died, she couldn’t really gather much more information on Geralt of Rivia, since she knew she had to be careful when asking around. He had a reputation, she knew, she’d heard ‘The Butcher of Blaviken’ being associated with his name once or twice, and she’d also heard ‘the Warlord’ or ‘White Wolf’ being mentioned, too. Cirilla wasn’t quite sure whether he was the White Wolf – who was, especially to the people outside of the realms he’d begun establishing 10 years ago, quite enigmatic – or just another Witcher who was close to him, and she didn’t know why he’d never come looking for her, either.

She continued to run through the forest, breathing heavily as she heard the Nilfgaardian soldiers getting closer than they ever had before, their hounds barking viciously behind her. She was nearing a sort of a clearing, and she staggered for a moment, feeling the presence of something nearby. There were two things, rather, she thought, two people; one that felt like magic that was, in a way, encompassing a person, and the other that was like a soft calmness, a strange feeling of protection and belonging with another person.

The layers of trees were already beginning to thin here, and, just as she was regaining her momentarily lost focus and was beginning to run again, Ciri felt something piercing her side, and she collapsed, letting out a shriek. She looked back over her shoulder, seeing that about a dozen soldiers and their hounds were less than 10 meters away from her now. As terror was beginning to was over her more than ever, she watched as the men were suddenly launched backwards by an invisible force, and she sensed a shift from the magical presence she’d felt moments ago. Turning around, Cirilla saw a few men with swords in their hands coming out of the clearing and moving towards the Nilfgaardians. One of the men, along with a beautiful woman with purple eyes who Ciri immediately identified as a sorceress stopped next to her. The man knelt down next to her, and his warm amber eyes immediately marked him a Witcher. He had wide shoulders and short brown hair, and half of his face was covered by a twisting scar. He didn’t seem threatening, though, and Ciri realized this was the other person whose presence she’d sensed. 

The Witcher was frowning, seemingly confused, and his eyes were full of both disbelief and wonder. Ciri tried to move slightly, which made her hyperaware of the arrow that was still buried in her side. She winced as liquid fire seemed to be spreading through her torso from the wound, and she felt even more sluggish and nauseated. 

The man frowned again, noticing her discomfort. He sniffed the air for a second, his eyes widening. 

“It’s poisoned,” he said, looking up at the sorceress who was still standing near them, appearing equally as shocked.

The woman frowned, crouching down next to them just as Ciri was beginning to feel her consciousness starting to slip away. She was beginning to fall backwards, when suddenly the Witcher reached out, grabbing her by the shoulders, still mindful of her wound. 

_“Cirilla?”_ he called, tentatively, worry lacing through his voice.

Everything had started to blur around her, yet Ciri’s eyes widened momentarily, unsure about how the man could have possibly known her name. She didn’t have time to think about it, either, because she couldn’t quite understand what else the Witcher was saying, and soon her vision turned black.

* * *

When she awoke sometime later, Ciri was lying in a soft bed, covered by warm blankets. She could hear the fire burning in a nearby hearth, and as she slowly opened her eyes, careful of her still present but diminishing headache, she discovered she was in a large, well-furnished bedchamber that looked cozy despite its stone walls. She slowly turned her head towards the window on her right side, discovering that the sky was pitch black now. It had been the middle of the afternoon when the Nilfgaardians had started chasing after her, so she must have been unconscious for some time now.

Out of her peripheral vision, she could see two men were seated on large wooden chairs next to her head, watching her quietly. One of them was the man from the forest, and the other was another Witcher. He, too, was just as tall and broad shouldered, yet his eyes were a brighter shade of gold, and his hair was long and white, pulled back in a half-ponytail. That, coupled with the fact that he was wearing a wolf’s head medallion around his neck made Ciri pretty sure that _this_ was the White Wolf. 

“How are you feeling?” he asked, staring intensely at her.

“Um… fine,” she mumbled, apprehensively, and the man hummed. The other Witcher shot him a pointed _look_ before abandoning his chair and perching up on the edge of the bed. Despite what his scar might have led one to believe upon first impression, he didn’t look hostile at all.

“Hey there,” he said quietly, offering her a small but seemingly genuine smile, “sorry about what happened in the woods, we would have tried to reach you faster if we knew you were there. I’m Eskel, and this is Geralt, my soulmate. You’re safe now, it’s ok.” 

Ciri looked at Eskel for a few moments, and then her gaze briefly turned to Geralt. The same sense of belonging and protection that she’d felt in the forest was still present, although now it was coming from two sources rather than one. It made sense, she supposed, because from what she’d read in the books that Mousesack used to sneak to her when her grandmother wasn’t looking, soulmates (which were pretty hard to come by) shared everything, in a way, especially things that had to do with destiny, so when one had a Child Surprise, the other was equally tied to them.

“I’ll go tell Triss and Yennefer you’re awake now,” Eskel continued a few moments later, standing up and giving her another soft smile, “they’ll probably want to take another look at you injury,” he added before exiting the room.

Hearing that, Ciri subconsciously reached up and placed one hand on her injured side. She could feel the bandages wrapped around her middle underneath the soft blue tunic someone had dressed her in, but her side was mostly sore and tender now, not sharply painful like it had been a few hours ago.

“You should rest for the next few days,” Geralt said from her side, still watching her, which startled her a little. He didn’t seem hostile, not really, though perhaps not as approachable as Eskel appeared to be.

“I’m sorry we didn’t find you sooner,” the man said after a few moments of silence, and Ciri turned her head to look at him, “I went looking for you, right after the attack,” he continued, “and we sent men to search for you. If we’d known you were still alive we wouldn’t have stopped looking.”

“You… _looked for me?”_ Ciri said quietly. She hadn’t been expecting it, really. When _(if)_ she finally found Geralt of Rivia, she’d been expecting for the man to maybe begrudgingly take her in, which would have still been better than being hunted down by Nilfgaard. She certainly hadn’t known he’d ever come looking for her, or that he… _cared?_

“Yes, I… wanted to take you away when Nilfgaard was first on the rise, but you grandmother was having none of it.”

Ciri frowned at this, surprised. She’d had no idea about that, and he grandmother had never mentioned the Witcher any other time before the night she’d died. Calanthe had always been somewhat bitter when talking about her daughter’s wedding, she knew, and although Cirilla hadn’t know why that was when she was younger, it certainly seemed to make more sense now.

Before she could say anything else though, Eskel returned to the room, with two women walking behind him. One of them was the purple eyed woman from the woods, and the other was also a sorceress, Ciri realized. She had curly, long brown hair and a kind face, and the girl could sense the magic coming off of her, as well.

“Hello, I’m Triss. I just need to take a look at your side, is that ok?” she asked, moving closer to the bed, and Ciri nodded, allowing her to pull the blankets to the side and to lift up her tunic before gently unwrapping the bandage around her waist.

The other woman, Yennefer, Ciri supposed, was standing by the foot of the bed, watching her quietly. She moved a little closer when Triss unwrapped the bandage, leaning over slightly to take a look. The wound was red and a little swollen, but it was already healed about halfway through. It had been treated with the help of magic, she could tell. 

“We’ll need to change them in the morning,” Triss said, replacing the bandages, seemingly pleased with what she saw, and Yennefer nodded.

“You should rest for a few days. You can probably walk tomorrow, but no strenuous activities or sudden movements,” Yennefer added quietly.

“I… thank you,” Ciri said when Triss had finished bandaging her up, and the sorceress smiled at her.

“You’re welcome,” Yennefer said quietly, a bit fazed, and even though she wasn’t smiling, there was something soft in her eyes while she looked at the girl.

The women left after that, and Eskel led them out of the room before returning to the chair he’d been sitting in earlier.

“You should sleep,” Geralt said quietly, after a few moments of silence, “it’s ok,” he added, leaning over to gently brush his knuckles against Ciri’s cheek. She didn’t really know what was happening, but she felt a soft touch of magic as her eyelids started to become incredibly heavy, and before she realized it, she was asleep.

* * *

In the morning, Cirilla woke up blinking blearily. Her side still felt tender, but it was less bothersome than it had been the previous night. A soft morning light was streaming into the room from the large window on her right, and when she looked up, she noticed that the two men were still seated in their chairs. Eskel was quietly leafing through a large, leather bound book, while Geralt was leaning back in his chair, eyes closed and hands on his knees. He looked like he was sleeping, but Ciri didn’t think that was the case. She remembered reading about Witchers and how they sometimes meditated in one of Mousesack’s books once, and she though Geralt was sitting up too rigidly to be sleeping right now.

A few moments later, Eskel looked up from his book, seemingly noticing that she was awake. He gave her a small smile before marking the page he’d been reading and closing the book, placing it on the side table next to him.

“How are you feeling?” he asked quietly, moving to sit on the edge of the bed again, and Geralt opened his eyes as well a few moments later, alerted by the noise.

“Umm… ok,” she said.

“Are you still in pain?” Geralt asked, watching her closely, and she shook her head.

“Only a little,” she answered.

“Hmm,” Geralt said, which Ciri was beginning to think was his most used phrase, “we should probably tell Yenn and Triss to check on you again,” he continued.

Ciri nodded slightly at that, and Geralt stood up a moment later, leaving the room after briefly meeting Eskel’s eyes.

“What’s… going to happen to me?” Ciri asked carefully after a few moments of silence, fidgeting with the hem of her blanket.

“You’re going to stay here,” Eskel answered, without hesitation, although there was something soft in his eyes, “you’re safe with us. Nilfgaard won’t get to you here, we won’t allow them to.”

“I’m… sorry, that you have to do that… for me,” she mumbled, not looking at him.

“Cirilla…” he said, scooting a bit closer to her, “you’re our responsibility now. You’ve always been, actually, and even though Geralt might not have expected a child when he invoked the Law of Surprise, you aren’t unwanted. We’re here to protect you.”

Ciri looked up then, still not quite meeting Eskel’s gaze, but she felt an unfamiliar sort of warmth swirling through her chest at hearing that. 

“Thank you,” she said, quietly, “and you can… uhhh… call me Ciri?” she added in a rush, once more avoiding his gaze, her cheeks reddening slightly.

“Ciri… alright, then,” he said, giving her another one of his soft smiles and reaching out to grab one of her hands in his, gently brushing his thumb over her fingers.

A few moments later, the door opened, and Geralt came in, followed by the two sorceresses.

“We’ll leave you to it,” Eskel said, squeezing her hand slightly before letting it go and standing up, leaving the room along with Geralt and closing the door behind them.

The sorceresses proceeded to bandage her wound just like they’d done the previous night before helping Ciri change her clothes and use the washroom. Afterwards, when they returned to the bedroom that Cirilla supposed was now hers, Triss excused herself to go and make some more of the salve they used for Ciri’s wound as well as some pain relieving potions, while Yennefer sat down on the chair Geralt had vacated earlier.

“I wanted to ask about your magic,” she said, regarding the girl intensely after a few minutes of silence, “your Chaos is strong, I can sense that. Did anyone ever teach you about it?”

“No,” Ciri answered quietly, not meeting her gaze. She was still sitting in bed, but now she was propped up against the headboard, her legs loosely covered with a blanket. “I don’t really know how to control it,” she added.

“I see,” Yennefer answered, “and how does it usually manifest?”

“It’s very… wild, I think. It’s only ever manifested when I was in danger, and it felt like I wasn’t really in control. I just… shrieked really loudly, and a tower collapsed. And another time some people died…” she trailed off, unsure of what else she should say.

Yennefer hummed at that, looking lost in thought for a moment.

“You need to learn how to control it,” the sorceress said, looking at Ciri again. She could tell that Yennefer was powerful, yet the woman hadn’t been unkind thus far, “it could put you in danger if you didn’t, and besides it’s too great an asset to not pursue it.”

“You… want to teach me?” Cirilla asked, unsure, and the corners of Yennefer’s mouth twitched upwards a little.

“Yes,” she said, “I do, but after you’ve healed. We could start in a week, maybe, to give you more time to settle in.”

“Thank you,” Ciri said, and she noticed that Yennefer’s eyes softened again.

“You’re welcome,” she said, standing up, “I should probably go now. And don’t worry about Geralt, he likes you. A lot, actually, he just doesn’t know anything about feelings. Eskel will set him straight,” Yennefer added knowingly as she exited the room.

When she was left alone, Ciri let out a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. She slumped back more comfortably against the headboard, closing her eyes for a few moments. This wasn’t _bad,_ she realized; she’d been expecting to be… halfheartedly taken in by Geralt when she found him, at best, not… _this._ It was… sort of _nice,_ thus far, if a bit strange, and Ciri was privately hoping she might even get to have a family again.

* * *

Geralt sat down in his solar, distractedly looking towards the window.

“She’s not going to bite, you know,” Eskel said dryly after a few minutes of silence, not even looking up from the document he was reading, and Geralt took a moment to pointedly glare at the top of his lover’s head. In hindsight, maybe he shouldn’t have done that, because while he was reverting his gaze towards the window, he was also met with Vesemir’s pointed stare, who was seated across him and on Eskel’s right.

Geralt huffed, giving Eskel another short, sideways glare, and the older man smirked, the corners of his mouth curling slightly, but he still didn’t look up. 

“What do you want me to do?” he asked.

“Spend some time with her, talk to her, even train her when she’s feeling better. I know you want to, and she probably wants it as well, stop thinking that she’s going to despise you the moment she gets to know you, because she won’t,” Eskel said, finally looking up from his paper and staring squarely at Geralt. Eskel was probably the only person who could talk sense into him when it mattered, he realized begrudgingly. Well, him and Vesemir, which was probably why his soulmate had brought the elder Witcher here as well; to have him cornered.

“She’s a child, Geralt,” Vesemir spoke up, sighing, “she’s our responsibility now, she needs a family, and we need to give her one. The two of you, especially.”

“I’m not sure she wants us,” Geralt murmured, and Vesemir rolled his eyes.

“Don’t be daft, Geralt, of course she does,” Eskel said, “have you even looked at her? Ciri just wants a family, she needs someone to love her and to protect her.”

_“Ciri?”_ Geralt asked, and Eskel smiled slightly.

“See? _I_ ’ve talked to her, now go and do the same.”

* * *

Geralt walked along the stone hallway, turning left at the end of the corridor and entering the private apartments that he and Eskel – and Cirilla now, too – lived in. These hadn’t been here before, but after the sacking of Kaer Morhen (which had thankfully resulted in a substantial loss of battlements rather than one of lives) they’d decided to rebuild the ruined parts of the keep differently.

He entered the sitting room, which was situated in the middle of the rooms and had a small dining table off to one side. Geralt and Eskel didn’t get to eat here very often, since Geralt was the Warlord and Eskel was his right hand, so they ate in the great hall more often than not, especially in the evenings and during most mornings. Still, while they liked eating with the rest of the Witchers, they enjoyed spending time alone, too, and they most often managed to do that at midday. Since everyone else had different matters to attend to during the day, lunch hours weren’t really established, and Geralt and Eskel usually either trained or saw to administrative matters together in the mornings, so they usually ate together at midday as well, which was what they were about to do now, too.

It had actually been Eskel’s idea for them to take a bit of time off for the following few days, to help Ciri settle in. Geralt wasn’t usually a fan of children, even though he wouldn’t ever let one be harmed, but he actually thought Cirilla was adorable, and her shyness reminded him of how Eskel had been as a child. 

He turned towards her room, knocking on the door and entering once he heard a quiet _‘yes’_ coming from inside. Geralt noticed that Cirilla was still in bed, this time propped up against the headboard, and she had a book open on her lap, as well as a couple more stacked on the nightstand next to her. After Yennefer and Triss had left her room that morning, Eskel had returned with a stack of books that he thought she might like so that she didn’t get bored while he and Geralt were away for a few hours.

“How are you feeling?” he asked, moving closer to the bed. Ciri had closed the book when he’d entered, and now she was absentmindedly fiddling with the small portion of the bookmark that was peeking out from in-between the pages.

“I’m okay,” she answered, looking up but not quite meeting his eyes. The sunlight that was streaming through the window was making the room very bright, and Geralt was awed for a moment when he noticed how green Ciri’s eyes really were. 

“Are you still hurting?” he asked, and the girl shook her head.

“Hmm,” Geralt said, seemingly pleased, “let’s go eat something, then,” he added, moving closer to the bed to help Ciri up.

Ciri set the book down to one side, pulling the blanket off of the lower part of her body before reluctantly swinging her legs over the side of the bed. She stood up slowly on socked feet, Geralt already holding her steadily by the shoulder.

“Easy,” he rumbled, steadying her as she began to slowly walk towards the door. It was strange how he was feeling so… _protective,_ Geralt realized. He knew, in theory, how a parent felt about and bonded with their Child Surprise, especially if there was Chaos involved as well, but actually experiencing it was a completely different matter altogether. 

Geralt led Ciri out through the still open door, guiding her towards the table and pulling out a chair for her to sit on.

After sitting down at the table, Cirilla looked around the room. She’d been here before; she’d passed through when Triss and Yennefer had helped her get to the washroom that morning, but she hadn’t really gotten the chance to take a look. The room was spacious, but it still looked comfortable, with a big hearth and a few armchairs and a daybed, as well as a few bookshelves and a large window. 

A few minutes later, Eskel came in as well, followed by a maid who was helping him carry some trays of food. He smiled when he saw Ciri, his scar crinkling slightly when he gently ran his fingers through her hair. Geralt smiled too. It was the first time she’d seen him do so, Ciri realized, noticing how the light streaming through the window was making his golden eyes shine. 

Yes, Ciri thought, maybe she would have a family.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!!!
> 
> If you have any ideas/ suggestions/ prompts, please let me know! Reviews are highly appreciated :)
> 
> You can also find me on tumblr @rrusi-writes if you want to request something or just to chat <3


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